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What if the secret to easing your migraines wasn't in a pill, but in the sea?
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Today we explore how omega-3s from fish and flax bring anti-inflammatory harmony to your brain,
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helping it weather fewer storms.
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Migraine Heroes is a podcast for chronic migraine sufferers,
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who've seen countless doctors with no results.
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Learn how to reduce your migraine attacks without endless medications or constant sacrifices.
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Hello, I'm Diane Ducarme. I've helped over 500 people break free from migraine,
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even after suffering for up to 60 years.
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My mission in life? To bring this relief to a million people
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using a unique blend of Eastern medicine and Western science.
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In this episode, you will learn how omega-3s reduce neuro-inflammation
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and why that matters for migraine pain.
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Which types and sources of omega-3s actually make a difference, and which ones are just a hype.
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And how Eastern medicine interprets omega-rich foods
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through the lens of balance, qi and circulation, and what that means for your next grocery list.
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Stay with me till the end, because I'll share a simple 3-step omega-3 integration ritual
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that supports your brain and reduces triggers naturally.
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Let's start with what Western science says about omega-3s and migraines.
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At the most basic level, omega-3 fatty acids, especially EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid, and DHA,
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docosahexaenoic acid, are essential fats that your body cannot produce on its own.
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You'll get them mainly from fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines,
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or from plant sources like flax seeds, chia, and walnuts.
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But what do they have to do with migraine?
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So let's go deeper.
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A groundbreaking study published in the BMJ, so the British Medical Association in 2021,
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by Dr. Ramsden and his team in the US National Institute on Aging,
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found that a diet high in omega-3s and low in omega-6s significantly reduced the frequency
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and intensity of migraines in chronic sufferers. Participants who followed this anti-inflammatory
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diet experienced 2 to 4 fewer headache days per month compared to the control group.
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That's not a small shift, it's a meaningful change in quality of life.
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Omega-3s help the body produce fewer inflammatory molecules called prostaglandins and leukotrienes.
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These are the same culprits that inflame blood vessels, sensitize pain receptors,
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and trigger the storm of neuroinflammation we know as a migraine attack.
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At the cellular level, DHA strengthens the neuronal membranes in your brain,
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allowing better communication between nerve cells and reducing hyper-excitability,
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one of the major triggers of migraine onset.
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In a 2017 review in Neurology Journal, researchers explained that the migraine
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brain tends to exist in a state of chronic inflammation. Omega-3s act like a calm down
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signal, literally resolving inflammation through a class of molecules called
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resolvins and protectins. These compounds actively switch off inflammatory responses,
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helping the brain return to a baseline state.
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Now here's where it gets fascinating. In many migraine patients, the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio
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is severely skewed, sometimes as high as a 20 to 1 ratio instead of the ideal 4 to 1.
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That means too much processed oil, too many fried foods, and not enough of those fatty
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fish or seeds that support neuronal repair. So even if you're supplementing omega-3s,
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you're still consuming high omega-6 oils like corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil,
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you're fighting an uphill battle.
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Another study in the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition by Shimotsu et al.
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found that omega-3 supplementation improved sleep quality and mood,
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which are tightly interlinked with migraine recovery.
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Now here, some neurologists are now calling omega-3s the nutritional triptan. And yes,
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that's powerful when used consistently and paired with a low inflammatory diet.
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Now before we jump to the eastern view, stay with me till the end. I'll tell you exactly
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how much omega-3 is beneficial and how to balance it with food and not just pills.
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So now let's flip to the eastern lens, because while western science looks at inflammation
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and neurotransmitters, traditional Chinese medicine sees migraines differently.
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According to traditional Chinese medicine, chronic headaches often arise when liver qi
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becomes stagnant or when liver yang rises excessively, both of which disturb the smooth
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circulation of energy and blood in the upper body. And so here's the interesting bridge.
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In eastern terms, omega-3 rich foods are yin nourishing and their blood enriching.
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They soften the liver, they nourish the brain and they reduce the internal wind,
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the kind of erratic movement of energy that creates sudden throbbing pain.
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So when you eat cold water fish, walnuts, black sesame or flax, you're actually introducing
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moisture and flexibility to your liver system, which prevents heat and stagnation from flaring
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into migraine attacks. From an Ayurvedic perspective, the connection is equally poetic.
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Migraines are often considered pitta vata imbalance, too much heat, too much movement,
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and omega-3s with their cooling and lubricating qualities will help pacify both. Think of them
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as calm oil on turbulent water. But here's where the east takes it further. While westerners might
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say take a supplement, an eastern practitioner would say balance your oils according to your
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constitution. So if you're cold and sluggish, you might benefit from slightly warmer sources
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of omega-3s such as salmon, trout or anchovy. And if you're overheated and irritable,
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which is common in hormonal migraines, you're going to lean more on chia seeds.
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And you can listen to our chia seeds episode. It's very instructive because there are ways
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to consume it really well and ways to consume it very wrong. It's important to get it right.
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Or flax seeds to soothe the internal fire. Now here's an unexpected insight. In ancient
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Taoist nutrition texts, it is said that the brain is the sea of marrow and the sea must be nourished
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by pure oils. So centuries before neuroscience described DHA as brain fuel, TCM was already
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prescribing fish soups for the brain because they observed the same principle through the
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body's energetic patterns. Of course, by no stretch of imagination am I saying that ending
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migraine attacks is as simple as adding omega-3 to your meals. Only you know the years, perhaps
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the decades of pain, of effort, of sacrifices that have shaped your journey. At Migraine Heroes,
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we witness that courage and change lives every single day. If migraines have been a part of your
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life for a long time, healing will take more than one nutrient. That's why this free podcast is all
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about to teach you all these hacks one at a time. The app is there too to help you track the Migraine
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Heroes app free of charge. And if you want more service, we are here too. When you start
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nourishing your brain with what it truly needs, omega-3s from a balanced diet of foods, oils and
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awareness, you're not just reducing inflammation, you are teaching your body peace. And remember,
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every small step you take moves you closer to freedom. You are powerful, you are resilient
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and you are no longer alone. Keep rising, Migraine Hero.
